


Userless

by fakebodies



Category: Tron (1982)
Genre: Gen, another sad au, ram dies, this is just sad again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 07:51:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7793068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fakebodies/pseuds/fakebodies





	Userless

Ram was a Userless program. Not in the same way as all the others in the cells- they all had Users waiting for them outside. Ram had nothing. He hadn't felt a call from RKleinberg in cycles. He's seen new conscripts distraught over the fact they won't be able to speak with their User. He's seen programs opt for deresolution instead of time cut off in the cells. The only program who didn't seem bothered was his neighbor, but Ram knew better. Tron's faith was just too strong.

Tron fought valiantly in the games. Really, Tron was everything a program should be. He was strong, intelligent, and loyal. He was a good friend, too. Ram enjoyed speaking with Tron, and they made a good team on the game grid as well. Ram finds himself nodding whenever Tron talks about speaking with his User as soon as he breaks out. It's not as if he really will- his User doesn't want to hear from him, but Ram still agrees. Userless programs were an oddity at best, and at worst something to be shunned and ridiculed. Ram really doesn't want to lose his only friend.

Ram finds another friend in Crom, and later in Flynn. He knows he should really stop speaking to new conscripts- one of them would end up derezzing no matter what. It just made the cycles more stressful than they already were. Flynn's a little weird but Ram likes him, although something about him rubs Tron the wrong way. Probably the way Flynn casually threw around AlanOne's name- you only told those you trusted your User's name, and for a stranger to speak it? Ram's surprised Tron didn't punch Flynn.

The lightcycle battle they're sent to takes a turn for the... not worse, but different. A collision breaks a hole in the wall, giving them a clean path to freedom. Flynn's already speeding towards it and Tron's not far behind him, but the conscript Ram had been racing peels off, heading for Tron. The security program doesn't notice, too focused on the looming Recognizer. Ram knows they can't let themselves be caught

Ram turns towards his friends, taking a deep breath. Tron had talked so much about AlanOne, about freeing the system from the MCP. If Tron was caught he'd be tortured and derezzed, whatever Sark decided to put him through would be drawn out and painful, and the system would remain the way it was. There would be no hope for freedom, for a real future. Ram, though? Ram was a nobody. An actuarial program in need of an update and without a User to return to. He steels himself, pushing his cycle even faster. What did he have to lose?

Before the enemy conscript can pull ahead, Ram slams into him, pushing them both into Tron's jetwall. He can hear the program screaming as he derezzes, and he's sure Tron's saying something but he can't make out what. Tron makes it through the break right before the Recognizer slams down, leaving Ram laying on the game grid. Two guards haul him off of the ground and Ram's circuits flare red. He catches something about "Sark" and "displeased" before he blacks out.

"Displeased" ends up being the understatement of the cycle. Sark is livid, refusing to believe that Ram doesn't know where his friends were going. Ram smiles up at his tormenter, exhausted and close to deresolution.

"Tron's gonna derezz you, Sark. You're not as strong as you think."

"Stronger than you." Sark sneers. Ram screams, feeling his code break apart. He sends a desperate plea to Tron's User to help his friends, because if any User will listen he knows it's AlanOne. He prays Tron will survive the MCP unscathed.

Sark watches the annoying little program derezz completely before sending troops out to find Tron and the User. This was shaping up to be more trouble than it would be worth.

 

 

* * *

The notice on Roy's monitor that his program had been deleted goes ignored. Alan had said the Master Control Program had been removed, he's sure it's just a system update. No big deal. At least he'd finally be able to get some real work done.

 


End file.
